Come for the Playin', stay for the Truckin' > Dark Star > Dew.

A very good one.

I much prefer this show over TDIH 71 and why is hard to quantify?
Just a certain mellowness about the Dead's sound in late 72. Even when they are off during Black Throated Wind they just take it in stride and feel their way thru it.
This is music for the headphones, for work around the house, for the bedroom. it is in my opinion the apex of the Dead's sound.
You have a song by song review from Kochman and a big picture review from Huck so all I have to add is this is good for whatever might be ailing you.
"You done better by me, than I done by you
Oh, I am drowning in you"

Promised Land is cut. We get in just in time for the final solo, which is rather slow.
Sugaree is slow and sultry, rather country sounding rather than psychedelic.
BTW. Bobby’s vocals are unfortunately low in the mix, plus he’s bungling lyrics. In fact, there must have been some damage to the tapes, because I only hear Jerry’s guitar and Bob’s voice clearly. Finally we get the drummer a bit, but I can’t hear Phil. This is corrected by the end, but the damage was done.
TN Jed is slow with a decent finale.
El Paso has a few different twists, from Jerome.
Candyman has an unfortunate cut, we miss some solo. It’s rather slow, a theme for the evening.
Big River brings some much needed energy.
China>Rider is pretty good but not great. There is a SQ issue during the transition but it’s short and relatively harmless.
Box of Rain has them finally firing to relatively full potential.
Mexicali maintains high energy.
BEW is well performed.
BIODTL
Loser was well done, the set maintains energy heading into the main event.
PITB has a cut that takes us straight into the beginning of the jam. The boys really keep things interesting, with Jerry noodling and wah wahing in interesting successions. He later assumes a watery tone, and keeps things mellow while Keith plinks about behind him. He loses this tone and becomes much more aggressive. The return to theme finds the watery tone again. Nice PITB, some new, unique twists.
Casey Jones chugs to the finish line.
GSET is nice and wah wah, but the energy is down from where it could be. This may be a source issue, somewhat muted maybe, but I think it’s just the show. Keith pushes Jerry to a higher level at the end.
Deal, coming off the resurrected end of GSET, is fine.
MAMU
Gone has a great outro that keeps rolling for a few minutes (the usual archive timer isn’t showing up!)
Truckin>Dark Star>Dew
The jam out of Truckin’ gets weird almost immediately, nice stuff with Phil putting some psychedelia into the show, pushing Jerry into the weird zone. They touch into Dark Star land quickly, with Keith and Jerry driving the intensity. Billy is a bit too low. It settles down and they head into the theme, still no timings on this go… sorry. The DS does descend into Tiger antics, out of a spacey period. Phil does some interesting work behind the scenes here, it is creepy time. Keith plays chopsticks for a second like a dolt… Jerry saves us from this by pushing the energy, the Tiger now lurking nearby. The Tiger never strikes from the bushes, but stays nearby for a good while. Instead Dew arises from slowly and sweetly from the jungle, led by Jerry but with Keith playing poignantly. It’s a haunting version for a while, with a strong send off finale to end the meat sequence.
Sugar Magnolia
They encore us off with a fine JBG
Performance Summary
The first set took a while to find its footing, not really achieving consistency until the Box of Rain. The second set is pretty good, with the meat sequence clearly stealing the spotlight.
Sound Quality
B, for the period. There are cuts and other issues, hiss is really low, so that helps.

I think I went to this concert. Did a bluegrass band open this show? If so who were they ( I really liked them)?

I don't know why it's there but the Box of Rain at the end is actually them doing Rain by the Beatles from 1993 or something. Definitely should not be there.

Listen, you know who you are. This is a message from the future.
For the past several months I have been systematically journeying (actually, like a pendulum it turns out) up and down the shows from 72 to 74, listening pretty much only to Dark Stars.
My brain is handling it all very well. But needless to say, I am deeply deeply stuck in a groove.
Only, somehow, while traveling in outer space I landed in December, 16, 1978 in Nashville, TN - right in the middle of the jam from Scarlet into Fire.
My god.
This is a message from the future. You know who you are. Join me in Nashville, Dec 16, 1978.
You'll recognize me.
(Note to self: portal.)

There still is a little hiss, and the vocals are a touch high in the mix, but this terrific little show has its moments!
The eighteen minute Playin' is dynamite, alternating between Jer's edgy themes and some shimmering rushes from Weir and Keith.
But the highlight is certainly the unique Jam which starts only minutes into a rough Truckin' and develops into a slow/smokey theme during which Jer is holding and bending notes a la Carlos Santana while Phil is backing into some very cool notes that sound like implosions!
The tension carries through into the excellent Dark Star which, at least up to the first verse, can hold its own against the best from 1972.
A fine show, four & one-half bones!